Paul David Tripp (DMin, Westminster Theological Seminary) is a pastor, an award-winning author, and an international conference speaker. He has written numerous books, including Lead; Parenting; and the bestselling devotional New Morning Mercies. His not-for-profit ministry exists to connect the transforming power of Jesus Christ to everyday life. Tripp lives in Philadelphia with his wife, Luella, and they have four grown children.

President, Paul Tripp Ministries; author, New Morning Mercies and My Heart Cries Out

Come, Let Us Adore Him

A Daily Advent Devotional

Good News Publishers

December 1

The angels sang because the everlasting Father had come to extend arms of redeeming grace to all who would give their hearts to him.

It is a wonderful, mysterious, hard-to-grasp, and beyond-the-scope-of-our-normal-reasoning story. But when you get it, when you come to fully understand the purpose and implications of this story, you will sing too. This story's amazing plot wasn't written when Mary got pregnant or when prophets began foretelling it or when God announced it after the disastrous rebellion of Adam and Eve. This story is so miraculous in every way that it could have only come out of the mind of God in eternity before the foundations of the earth were laid down by his mighty hand. It points to the divine imagination and screams the power of the divine hand. No man could write this plot and if he did, no man could expedite what he had written. This story is itself an argument for the existence of God and is a portrait of his holy character.

The beautiful world that God had created was now broken and groaning — the direct result of the rebellion of the ones God had made in his own image and had placed his guiding and providing love upon. The evidence of its brokenness was everywhere, from the inner recesses of the hearts of people, to violence and corruption of government, to the existence of plagues and diseases. Sure, there was beauty still to be seen, but the whole world groaned under the weight of its brokenness. It would have been just for God to stay his distance, to let the world quake and groan. It would have been a just response to the arrogant rebellion that brought this brokenness on the world. But in one of the gorgeous mysteries of God's sovereign grace, he looked on his broken, rebellious world with eyes of mercy.

Yes, God would act decisively, and his actions would be what he had planned in the beginning, but they would be a stunning surprise to every mere mortal. His response would not be condemnation and judgment. His response would not be a meting out of justice. Rather, his response would be intervention and rescue. He would do in grace what the law could never do. He would do in grace what we could never do for ourselves. He would do what philosophers could never conceive, what leaders could never strategize, and what poets could never imagine. He would offer the only thing that would ever address the need and solve the problem. He, himself, would become the greatest, most costly, most transformational gift ever.

God would take on human flesh and invade his sin-broken world with his wisdom, power, glory, and grace. But he wouldn't descend to a palace. Instead, the Lord Almighty, the Creator, the sovereign King over all things would humble himself and take on the form of servant; he would live on our behalf the life we could have never lived, he would willingly die the death that you and I deserve to die, and he would rise from his tomb as the conqueror of sin and death. He would suffer every single day of his life so that he could, with his life, give grace to rebels, extend love to those who would deny his existence, impart wisdom to those who think they know better, and extend forgiveness to everyone who seeks him. His coming stands as an affirmation that he will not relent, he will not be satisfied until sin and suffering are no more and we are like him, dwelling with him in unity, peace, and harmony forever and ever.

It is true that you just can't write this stuff! The majesty of the patient and forgiving love of this story defies words. The implications of this birth are not only transformational to the cosmos, but also eternal in their extent. This is the story of Jesus, born in a barn in Bethlehem. The Messiah the earth cried for now cries to be held by Mary and will soon cry in torment of the cross of salvation. He came to suffer because he came to save. The angels sang because finally hope had come. Don't you want to join them?

For further study: Luke 2:13–14; Revelation 5:8–11

For parents and children:

Central theme: Singing

Ask you children what their favorite song is, ask them why they think people sing, read Luke 2:13–14 to them, and talk about why the angels sang at the birth of Jesus.

December 2

Jesus knew he had come not just to preach the gospel of sacrifice, but also to be that sacrifice, yet he was perfectly willing.

One of the dark character qualities of sin that we don't recognize as much as we should is unwillingness. We're often unwilling to do what God says if it doesn't make sense to us. We're often unwilling to inconvenience ourselves for the needs of someone else. We're regularly unwilling to wait. We're often unwilling to be open and honest. We're too often unwilling to consider the loving rebuke of another. We struggle to be willing to say no to our own wrong thoughts and desires. We often struggle to be willing to answer God's ministry call. Often we are unwilling to admit that we are wrong. Too often we struggle to serve willingly and to give generously. Unwillingness is one of sin's powerful damaging results.

So here's what the Christmas story is all about: a willing Savior is born to rescue unwilling people from themselves because there is no other way. Jesus was willing to leave the splendor of eternity to come to this broken and groaning world. He was willing to take on human flesh with all its frailty. He was willing to endure an ignominious birth in a stable. He was willing to go through the dependency of childhood. He was willing to expose himself to all the hardships of life in this fallen world. He was willing to submit to his own law. He was willing to do his Father's will at every point. He was willing to serve, when he deserved to be served. He was willing to be misunderstood and mistreated. He was willing to endure rejection and gross injustice. He was willing to preach a message that would cause him personal harm. He was willing to suffer public mockery. He was willing to endure physical torture. He was willing to go through the pain of his Father's rejection. He was willing to die. He was willing to rise and ascend to be our constant advocate. Jesus was willing.

You see, it's not just the Christmas story; rather, the entire redemptive story hinges on one thing — the eternal willingness of Jesus. Without his willingness, you and I would be without hope and without God. Without his willingness, we would be left with the power and curse of sin. Without his willingness, we would be eternally damned. During this season of celebrating don't forget to stop and celebrate your Savior's willingness. His willingness is your hope in life, death, and eternity.

But there is even more to be said. The Advent willingness of Jesus is your guarantee that he continues to be willing today. Right here, right now, he is willing to love you on your very worst day. Right now he is willing to forgive you again and again. Here and now he is willing to be patient as you continue to grow and mature. Right now he is willing to battle on your behalf against evil within and without. Here and now he is willing to teach you through his Word. Now he is willing to supply every one of your spiritual needs. Now he is willing to be faithful even when you're not. He, right now, is willing to empower you when you're weak and to restore you when you've fallen. He is willing to comfort you when you are discouraged and protect you when you've stepped into danger. And he remains willing to do everything necessary to feed, guide, sustain, and protect you until eternity is your final home.

You see, the Advent story reminds us that our past, present, and future hope rest not on our willingness, but on the willingness of the One for whom the angels sang, the shepherds worshiped, and the magi searched. Willing Jesus is the only hope for unwilling sinners!

For further study: Hebrews 12:1–3

For parents and children:

Central Theme: Willingness

Talk to your children about what it means to be willing and how the sin in our hearts makes us unwilling. Encourage them to talk about places in their lives where they're unwilling. Then talk about how Jesus came to earth and willingly did hard things because he loves us.

December 3

All the promises of the prophets were carried on the shoulders of the One born in Bethlehem, and he fulfilled them all.

Maybe you've endured one of those awkward moments when important visitors, friends you haven't seen for a while, or distant relatives show up unannounced. You're glad they're there, but you're also kind of mad because they didn't let you know they were coming. It's good to see them, but you would've enjoyed the luxury of being prepared for their coming. Most of us don't like being surprised by someone significant showing up unannounced.

Well, Jesus didn't show up on earth unannounced. A whole company of prophets spoke a myriad of prophecies that not only pointed to the surety of his coming, but also made specific promises about what his coming would produce.

Micah prophesied that Jesus would be born in Bethlehem "But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days" (Mic. 5:2).

Isaiah prophesied something that was both very specific and unthinkable, that Jesus would be born of a virgin. "Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel" (Isa. 7:14).

Genesis 22:18 tells us that Jesus would be born as a descendant of Abraham and as such would be the ultimate fulfillment of God's covenant promises: "And in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed" (see Num. 24:17).

The Old Testament also foretells that Jesus would be called out of Egypt: "When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son" (Hos. 11:1; see Matt. 2:13).

Jeremiah tells us that Jesus will be born in the middle of the worst kind of human suffering: "A voice is heard in Ramah, lamentation and bitter weeping. Rachel is weeping for her children; she refuses to be comforted for her children, because they are no more" (Jer. 31:15; see Matt. 2:16–18).

These prophecies remind us that the coming of Jesus is the result of the unstoppable zeal of a God of glorious redeeming grace. God wouldn't leave his world in its evil-scarred condition of brokenness. He was unwilling to leave us lost in our sin and in hopeless bondage to the rebellion of our own evil hearts. He wouldn't let his story end with dark moral failure and the requisite divine judgment. These, and many other prophecies, remind us that the great author of history's plot determined that the overarching theme of his story would not be judgment, but grace. And he knew that if the story were to be a grace story, the central character would have to be none other than his Son. Only the divine Son of God would be up to the task of living a perfectly righteous life in the middle of sin and suffering, dying an acceptable death that would satisfy his Father's holy requirements, and rise out of the tomb of his death as the author of eternal life for all who place their trust in him.

But here's what you need to understand today. The surety of these past prophecies and the specificity of how Jesus fulfilled them is also your guaranteed future hope. The story that the prophets of old pointed to has not yet come to its final conclusion. This means that today, in your life and mine, God is still working his unstoppable plot, and he will not relent or rest until all that the prophets predicted is fully realized in the lives of every one of his children.

Know today that it's not just you who battles with sin and struggles in the middle of suffering. The Messiah, prophesied by those saints of old, battles on your behalf, and he will not quit until sin and suffering is no more. Like movie trailers, the prophets give you a taste of God's plot, of which you now live in the middle. The movement of the plot doesn't rest on your wisdom, power, or goodness, but on the unstoppable zeal of the One who is perfect in his holiness and plenteous in his grace, and because it does, the last chapter, for which we all long, is secure.

For further study: Micah 5:1–6

For parents and children:

Central theme: Promises

Ask your children what a promise is and get them to think about why we make promises. Talk to them about how the birth of Jesus proves to us that God always keeps the promises he makes.

December 4

The angels sang a glory song because Glory had come to earth to unleash his glory on all who would put their trust in him.

I love Christmas. I love the excitement of the season, the gift giving, Christmas cookies, decorating the biggest tree we can get in our home, the special moments with people whom I love, but most of all the deep, encouraging, humbling, and hope- giving story that is at the heart of this season. I can remember as a little boy the excitement that would begin to grow as my mom and my grandma began making dozens and dozens of cookies. And I remember how my excitement would elevate as my dad began to drag out the Christmas decorations. But maybe the thing I loved the most was the music. Sure, I liked hearing all those silly seasonal songs as we went shopping in downtown Toledo, but what I loved then and love even more now are those rich hymns about the birth of Jesus. I learned them as a boy; but I understand them today, line by line, in a way I never did during all the excitement of those boyhood Christmases.

There is something particularly glorious about the hymns that explain and define the significance of the incarnation of Jesus Christ. Words like "Veiled in flesh the Godhead see; hail the incarnate Deity" or "He comes to make his blessing flow far as the curse is found" or "Radiant beams from thy holy face, with the dawn of redeeming grace" shimmer with glory. This makes sense because they echo the glory song that the angels first sang on the night when the most glorious thing in history happened: God took on human form. Let these words ring in your heart for a moment: God took on human form. God became a man. Deity took on humanity. Glory came to earth in common human form. If you or I had been writing the big redemptive story, we would have never conceived something so amazing and miraculous as God actually coming on a rescue mission as a real human person. There is only one word that captures this one amazing, history-altering event: glory.

The angels sang a glory song not only because the events about which they sang were glorious, but also because the One who came was, is, and will ever be the sum and definition of glory. The angels sang of glory because Glory had come to earth to rescue us from the inglory of sin and to unleash the forgiving and transforming glory of his grace on all who would believe. The hymn of the angels, and the hymns that have been written by God's people since, shimmer with glory because the incarnation of Jesus is about a glorious Savior coming to give glorious grace to people who have forsaken his glory for the temporarily satisfying shadow glories of the created world. If you write a hymn about glory, you will end up penning glorious things.

But there's something else I want us to think about. The angels, as they sang their glory song that night, began the singing of a glory song that would never end. God's people have penned and sung glory songs about Jesus ever since. Whenever and wherever they gather, they sing together of the birth, the life, the death, the resurrection, the promises, the presence, the power, and the grace of Jesus. Around the world hearts lift and hope comes rushing in as melodies carry the precious truths of God's most wonderful gift to us, the gift of his Son.

And think about this: the final book of the Bible, Revelation, invites us to listen to the voices of those who have passed over to their final and eternal home. What do we hear them doing? We hear them singing glory songs about Jesus, just as the angels did on the night of his birth. "Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God" (Rev. 19:1); "Hallelujah! For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory" (Rev. 19:6–7). On into eternity the song echoes. It is the celebration chant of the redeemed. And one day we will join that multitude, no longer looking forward in hope but looking back with the security of redemption accomplished, and with the angels and the saints of old we too will sing glory songs about Jesus forever and ever and ever. Yes, it is true: that night the angels began a song that will never ever end. The Savior who rescued your heart now claims your song. Have you joined the choir?